A Major Ocean Current Could Be on The Verge of a Devastating 'Tipping Point' 25 FEBRUARY 2021 The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) sea currents are vital in transporting heat from the tropics to the Northern Hemisphere, but new research suggests climate change might knock the AMOC out of action much sooner than we anticipated.
That could have profound, large-scale impacts on the planet in terms of weather patterns, upending agricultural practices, biodiversity, and economic stability across the vast areas of the world that the AMOC influences. The problem is the rate at which Earth is warming up and melting the ice in the Arctic: according to the researchers' new models, this speed of temperature increase means the risk of hitting the tipping point for the AMOC going dormant is now an urgent concern.